The Long-Term Effects of Living in a Shared and Continuous Traumatic Reality: The Case of Israeli Families on the Border With Gaza

2021 ◽  
pp. 152483802110634
Author(s):  
Orit Nuttman-Shwartz

This article presents a literature review of the concept of intergenerational transmission of traumatic stress among a specific population of Israeli parents and children living near the Israeli/Gaza border, an area that can essentially be viewed as a laboratory of shared, continuous, and stressful reality resulting from ongoing political violence. The Google Scholar database was used to search only for peer-reviewed articles written in English and published between 2002 and 2020, and the particular focus of the study was Israeli families living in the “Gaza envelope”: communities that have been on the receiving end of rockets and mortars from Gaza for the past 20 years. The review was based on 35 articles and sheds light on the existence of studies using a variety of perspectives (e.g., psychological, biopsychosocial, and behavioral). Findings demonstrate the effects of continuous stress situations on the family dynamic, even before birth, among this small population. In addition, they show that to understand the unique process of intergenerational trauma transmission in a shared continuous traumatic reality, it is important to adopt a comprehensive perspective so as to understand the reciprocal, long-lasting, and transgenerational effects of being exposed to traumatic stress. This perspective can be used as a basis for developing family intervention strategies that are appropriate for preventing stress outcomes that derive from living in the context of persistent violence.

1999 ◽  
Vol 113 (4) ◽  
pp. 314-317 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. H. Jardine ◽  
M. V. Griffiths ◽  
E. Midgley

AbstractConservative treatment for otitis media with effusion (OME) led us to consider the use of hearing aids as a way of managing the associated hearing loss. This study aimed to assess the compliance of patients and acceptance of hearing aids for the management of children with OME.Thirty-nine children who had been given binaural hearing aids to manage OME were assessed at routine follow-up after six months. A clinician who did not prescribe the aid administered a questionnaire to assess compliance, change in symptoms and acceptance of the aids.Thirty-eight parents thought the aids were easy to use and 25 (66 per cent) were completely satisfied with the management. Aided hearing improved by a mean of 17 dB (Range 10–30) over three frequencies, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0 Khz and all parents reported subjective hearing improvement in their children. The stigma of an aid was reported as minimal under the age of seven.Hearing aids provide a non-invasive way of managing the problems associated with OME which is acceptable to certain parents and children. Long-term effects of using aids need to be evaluated before they can be recommended.


2016 ◽  
Vol 43 (6) ◽  
pp. 103-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriela Fried Amilivia

Three decades after state terror in Uruguay, counter memory making has endured in successive waves despite the official politics of oblivion, a transitional politics based on the denial of state abuses, absence of redress for victims, and impunity for perpetrators of the crimes of state terrorism. The Uruguayan case illustrates the impossibility of foreclosing memory through political engineering and the unsustainability of blanket impunity. It also highlights the long-term effects of ongoing social mobilization for memory and personal memorialization after social trauma and offers a sociocultural and intersubjective approach to the understanding of the generation of social memory after massive political violence.Tres décadas después del terrorismo de estado en el Uruguay, la construcción de la contramemoria ha resistido en oleadas sucesivas a pesar de una política oficial del olvido, una política de transición basada en la negación de los abusos del estado, la ausencia de reparaciones para las víctimas y la impunidad para los responsables de los crímenes del terrorismo de estado. El caso uruguayo ilustra la imposibilidad de impedir la construcción de la memoria por medio de la ingeniería política y la falta de viabilidad de una impunidad general. También pone de manifiesto los efectos a largo plazo de una continua movilización social por la memoria y la memorialización personal después del trauma social y ofrece un enfoque sociocultural e intersubjetivo para entender la generación de la memoria social después de periodos de enorme violencia política.


1994 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 669-674 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ed Cairns

The papers presented in this special section provide an introduction to the area of research on the effects of political violence on children. The articles cover a wide range of topics from the well-researched question of stress and coping to the less often investigated questions of the development of aggression, the long-term effects of political violence, and the evaluation of attempts at reconciliation. In addition, they represent those geographical areas which at present dominate work in this area the Middle East, Northern Ireland, and South Africa. They also illustrate emerging debates concerning resilience versus vulnerability and the effectiveness of outsiders versus insiders as investigators. The research reported here also points to the need for more cross-cultural work. Finally, it is argued that there is a need to understand the collective nature of political violence. This has implications not only for future research methods but, more importantly, for the development of a theoretical basis that is needed for work in this area.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yajing Sun ◽  
Yuanyuan Qu ◽  
Jianwei Zhu

Background: Stress disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), are attracting much attention. However, the relationship between traumatic stress and inflammation is rarely discussed.Subjects and Methods: As studies have linked PTSD to altered susceptibility to various diseases, such a psychiatric condition may lead to long-term systematic changes in physiological functions. We searched PubMed with the keywords “traumatic stress,” “stress disorders,” “post-traumatic stress disorder,” and “inflammation.”Results: Based on 65 previously published studies, we reviewed the long-term effects of PTSD, as well as traumatic events, on inflammatory function from both epidemiological and biological perspectives. Post-traumatic stress disorder is related to the immune response, including an increase in inflammatory factors and a reduction in anti-inflammatory factors. Additionally, it has been demonstrated that traumatic stress disorder and immune disease share a common genetic basis at the gene expression level.Conclusions: Understanding this relationship is of great significance for optimizing treatment plans for patients with PTSD.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruth Carrico ◽  

Introduction: On March 6, 2020, the current ongoing pandemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) also known as COVID-19 reached the commonwealth of Kentucky. Within days the first cases of infection and hospitalization were identified among healthcare workers (HCW) in Kentucky, other states in the U.S., and around the world. There is little information available regarding the impact of COVID-19 on the HCW population within this area. The objective of this study is to describe the baseline characteristics of hospitalized HCWs infected with COVID-19. Methods: Data collection was performed as part of a retrospective study of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in any of nine acute care hospitals in Louisville. COVID-19 infection was confirmed using Reverse Transcriptase-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR). Descriptive statistics were performed on clinical and epidemiological characteristics of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 who had indicated healthcare as their occupation. Results: Of the 700 adults hospitalized with COVID-19 from March 7 through July 1, 2020, 23 were HCWs. The mean age was 51 years and 78% were female. The majority of hospitalized HCWs had comorbidities including obesity (70%), hypertension (57%), hyperlipidemia (35%) and diabetes (26%). Common symptoms reported were fever (70%), dyspnea (78%), cough (78%) and fatigue (57%). Nine HCWs (39%) were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) and 6 (26%) developed acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Two (9%) patients developed a new, serious arrhythmia, two sustained cardiac arrest (9%), and two (9%) died in-hospital. Conclusions: Older adult HCWs with underlying health conditions such as obesity and hypertension were more likely to be hospitalized and have severe in-hospital complications. One HCW death due to COVID-19 was identified in this small population. These findings can help to identify and strengthen approaches to protect HCWs from SARS-CoV-2 infection and from long term effects of COVID-19.


2014 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 415-427 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michaeline R. Jensen ◽  
Jessie J. Wong ◽  
Nancy A. Gonzales ◽  
Larry E. Dumka ◽  
Roger Millsap ◽  
...  

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